This invention relates generally to digital data processing equipment, and more particularly to an improved array processor particularly suited for vector arithmetic utilizing data from at least one two-dimensional array as an input.
Many computational processes utilize vector arithmetic in which constants are stored in two-dimensional arrays which are periodically accessed to provide inputs to a computational algorithm. Such computational processes could be useful in a digital voice communication link where analog voice signals are encoded and decoded. The decoding process utilizes vector arithmetic and is composed of a long list of repetitive steps in which the results of one step are accumulated and added to the results of a succeeding step. Conventional systems for accomplishing this type of arithmetic frequently have utilized serial processes wherein each individual computation is performed, the results stored, an array accessed for the next computation, and the computation re-performed and added to the results of the preceding computation. Such processes are lengthy and have limited the efficiency of digital voice communication systems. The present invention solves the above problems by providing an array processor and an associated architectural scheme wherein multiple operations such as multiplication, addition, subtraction, transfer and storage can be effected in parallel with a single input instruction, thereby greatly increasing the speed at which such computations can be effected.